Carina almost danced with excitement on the top step. When Carina reached her, she gave Alessia a quick hug before linking their arms together. “Just wait. Mine is the best room. Come on. Let’s go.”
Eager to see the other Little’s nursery, Alessia walked quickly by her friend’s side. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Of course. We have to stick together. I’m crossing my fingers the other guys locate their mates. So far, Nightfall is a pretty good matchmaker.”
“It is for us! Who else is looking for their special someone?”
“A few fortunate vampires in the clan have mates. Most do not. Donovan, Bram, Darius, and Alaric are among my clan members who haven’t found their perfect match. Did you know that’s why Alaric had Nightfall built? He wanted to increase the clan’s contact with possible mates. Attract them like flies to honey. Or in this case, booze, handsome guys, and music.”
“Really. That’s pretty crafty,” Alessia said.
“It is. My bets on Bram to find his mate next,” Carina told her.
“Bram’s the computer guy, right?” Alessia asked as they reached the top of the interior stairs.
“Yes. He’s scary good at uncovering information online. Donovan is the DJ. He’s in charge of social media as well. Darius deals with money. I work with him now.”
“You do? Like an accountant?” Alessia asked. “That’s so neat. I wish I had an impressive skill like that.”
“Balancing the books isn’t too hard if you like math.”
“That’s a huge if!”
“Many people don’t get along with numbers,” Carina sympathized and pointed at a door decorated with colorful pictures. “This is my room.”
“Did you color these?” Alessia asked, running her finger over the edge of a beautiful princess with raven hair and blue eyes.
“I did. We can color if you’d like. Maybe your Daddy would let you decorate a door at your house.”
“I’m sure he would. Titus is very kind to me.”
“He enjoys seeing you happy. Good Daddies do. Fair warning—they can be sticklers for things like following the rules and their directions,” Carina told her.
“My gosh! Your Daddy has rules too?” Alessia loved spending time with her new friend. Carina didn’t have a filter and shared everything. After being isolated for so long, Alessia treasured having someone so cheerful and welcoming in her life.
“I think Daddies are born with a set of do’s and don’ts engrained in them. Come in. Let’s have some fun.”
Carina pushed open the door and led the way inside. Alessia stood on the colorful carpet and checked out the room. She couldn’t figure out what to look at first. Besides the artwork scattered around, the room looked like a nursery for an adult—rocking chair, crib, changing table. Her gazelingered on that piece of furniture. What happened there? Alessia forced herself to turn back to Carina.
“Wow! This is amazing. You must love this space.” Of course, she adored her nursery more, but this room was pretty and fun. The nursery matched Carina’s personality perfectly.
Alessia walked forward to study the jigsaw pieces scattered on the table. She picked one up and snapped part of the blue sky into place.
“How did you do that? Sit down. Help me with this puzzle. It’s so hard,” Carina demanded.
“Oh! I should have asked first.”
“No way. You have puzzle vision! Let’s work on it.”
Alessia grinned at her and pulled out a chair. Immediately, she picked up another piece and added it to the picture. “I see where they all fit together. I like that term, puzzle vision—like I have some fancy skill.”
“It’s an amazing talent. You must have done a bunch of jigsaws to become an expert.”
“No, not really. I have an app on my phone. I play that sometimes when I don’t have a lot to do. When I lived at home, my brother preferred I remain out of sight,” Alessia confided.
“You had to stay in your room? That’s awful. I’d go crazy.”
“I ventured away from the house, but when I was on the grounds, I made myself scarce. I guess I got used to it. What was your life like before you met Marcus?” Alessia asked.
